Intel’s latest Centrino chipset,the Centrino Pro, formerly code-named “Santa Rosa”,has officially debuted in a number of laptops.The consumer version is called Centrino Duo.Both chipsets feature the Core 2 Duo chips, the DirectX 10-compatible Mobile 965 Express chipset, Intel Turbo flash-based memory built in for caching data, and, on the wireless side, support for the draft of 802.11n (via the Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n chip).
Among the vendors out with the latest Centrino today:Acer America’s Aspire 5920 combines the Centrino Pro with Acer’s Gemstone industrial design. They call the laptop a “solution for all your entertainment demands,” as it has a 15.4-inch extra-bright widescreen display, Dolby surround sound, HD-DVD drive and HDMI port, and the option for a TV tuner.Asus has the W7S ultraportable, which weights four pounds but features a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD screen and full-size keyboard. The G1S is a full-size laptop with 15.4-inch screen, upgradeable to a 17-inch LCD.Fujitsu calls its LifeBook E8410 notebook with 15.4-inch widescreen display the “flagship of its corporate desktop replacement portfolio.” It, along with the 4.3-pound LifeBook T4220 convertible Tablet PC, the security-enhanced LifeBook E8310 corporate notebook and the LifeBook A6030 mainstream notebook with 15.4-inch extra bright display, will all run Centrino Pro.Sony features a high-definition 15.4-inch display to go with its Blu-ray DVD drive/burner and HDMI connector in the VAIO FZ Premium Edition (the standard FZ comes cheaper, sans Blu-Ray). Other VAIOs with new Centrino include the SZ and AR series.